To the Editor:

Princeton’s new yard waste collection policy needs to be changed. An unintended result of consolidation is that the Municipality Formerly Known as the Borough now finds itself subject to a policy originally designed for the Township. The problem is that conditions in the Borough are different from those farther out. Our lots are smaller — in many cases much smaller — so that even people who keep a compost pile and use the weekly Compostable Recycling Program as an additional outlet are left with a huge backup of yard waste between collections.

There’s a further problem. Many of us do our own yard work, so it takes us much longer than professional yard crews to get the weeding and clipping done. That’s why the 12-week interruption in yard waste collection — from May 20 to August 12 — was especially frustrating. (This probably accounts for the widespread ignoring of the ban on yard waste at the curb during June and July.)

Naturally, Princeton is concerned about DPW (Department of Public Works) costs, so here’s a suggestion: schedule brush-only collections for the end of both June and July. If that is considered too costly, here’s a further suggestion: restrict the June and July brush only collections to just the municipality Formerly known as the Borough, where they are so urgently needed.

LINDA DOWLING

Harriet Drive